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Tonight, when I left the twins’ room after tucking them in bed, I stood at the door and listened for a while to the little voices calling out, “I love you mama” repeatedly in tones that were too sweet to adequately convey in written words. I remembered standing outside the same door just a few months ago, tired after trying to soothe anxious and upset babies, wondering how long the bedtime strife would last. Tonight’s noises were a wonderful reminder of the progress the twins have made in their adjustment to life as Ludwigs. There is other evidence of progress too- Cora’s 8 teeth that are just starting to come in, Elias’ need for size 3t t-shirts (he was barely filling out the 18month size when we came home in October), the ever increasing vocabulary of both kids, their huge smiles, their willingness to greet strangers and to share food, their normalized bowel movements (this one I am particularly thankful for), their fearlessness on the playground, Cora’s complete change in countenance and disposition, the continual singing and chatter that can be heard pretty much ALL the time, the dancing, the clapping, the wrestling… oh man. Every day, these two seem to become more “alive” and more themselves.

To be fair, we do have our fair share of tears and timeouts. We have the battles of the will, testing of limits, a disdain for sharing, and a whole host of “normal” two year old struggles (times 2). But these challenges are developmentally healthy and normal and are actually signs of health and progress in their own ways. So, we celebrate them (at least in moments of silence at 2am, maybe not when both kids are throwing a fit in time out, ha!), and we embrace them, and we remind ourselves that, in the grand scheme of things, we are all doing really, really well.

I still can’t believe that we are all under the same roof. I remember not so long ago when I tucked a weepy Macy in bed as she cried for her brother and sister that she so desperately wanted to have home. I cried too. It felt impossible- the idea of all four of my kids being in one place seemed out of reach and a long way off. And now, well, I think I’ll go peek at the four of them as they sleep soundly in their beds…

It may have been quiet on the blog recently, but I’ve been blogging… in my head. There are many things I’ve been thinking about, some that I’ve actually started writing about, and none that have actually made it all the way to publishing (oops). I think that time is coming sooner than later though, as writing continues to be an outlet for me to process all that I am experiencing, and, these days, I have no shortage of experiences to process. I just haven’t had the mental bandwidth for much creativity lately. The holidays (we pack in a few extra birthdays, and an anniversary with the Christmas/New Year standards), the transition back to full-time work (after being away 4 months), and many other unique situations and special events have kept my plate full and my bandwidth minimal. It has been a season of celebration and transition, but I’m sure at least some stories and musings will show up here soon enough!

As for today, there are a couple of noteworthy things I thought I’d document (partially because I can’t believe they are real, and writing them here at least makes them exist somewhere outside of my head, ha).

This morning was the easiest start to a work day that we have had yet. Note: easiest, not easy. Things were far from leisurely over here- but they were peaceable, orderly, and, for the most part, enjoyable. Everyone ended up in the right place with some time to spare and no exasperated “hurry up, we are going to be late”‘s were uttered by mom (see my post about “experiencing mom” for more on that. Oh wait, that’s still in my head too, dang it).

For the first time, the kids self-divided for play based on gender. The boys played cars in the house, the girls ran around the yard together. This made me pause for a moment of appreciation 1) because everyone was entertained and 2) because Macy and Owen each wanted a brother and sister to play with so badly, and here they were, finally getting to relate and play together just as they’d hoped. #goodtimesahead

We made it through our Monday walk with just one meltdown and time out and returned home with everyone happy and smiling, without a single diaper blowout. Big deal. Last week I thought we were going to have to quit our Monday walking tradition just to save my sanity, and this week it actually felt like… a walk in the park. Mind you, we aren’t talking about a little jaunt- we are talking about a 5 mile trek that includes dinner by stroller, so the twins have justifiably required some time to get acclimated to this adventure. It seems they have finally decided they like it, and I do too.

Adoption is important to our family, and, truth is, it has been for a long time now. The definition of adoption found in the dictionary says something about “choosing or taking as one’s own” and by this definition, there are many who have been adopted into our family even before Cora and Elias. There are many grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters who bear no blood relation to us but who are family to us nonetheless. This bond of love draws together unrelated things (in this case, people), and offers whatever it has (physical, mental, emotional) for the well being and wholeness of the other. It is life-giving and essential to our growth and development. Adoptive family is powerful, and we all need the sense of security that comes from being known, and loved, and part of something bigger than ourselves. We have experienced this reality ourselves, and we love extending that same reality to others whenever and however possible. Will you join us in doing the same?

You can start by joining in the celebration of the first World Adoption Day next week. To find out how you can participate, click here: http://worldadoptionday.org

May the world be changed and challenged and a little more beautiful as we celebrate a love that sees, knows, chooses, and embraces. It doesn’t get much better than that.

This morning the twins wandered to another room of the house and started playing with toys while I cleaned up from breakfast. That might seem “normal” for most two-year-old kids, but for the last few weeks my kids have been following me around the house whining if I tried to get anything done. The fact that they are starting to venture out a little bit on their own is a sign that they are feeling more comfortable in our home and that they are feeling more securely attached to me. It’s good news.

It’s also good news because it means I can get a few things done around the house (hopefully).

Today I got an email from a social worker and a grant agency both asking the same question. In fact, it is the question I get most (besides, “are they yours?” and “are they twins?”). The question most people seem to want answered is, “how is life with 4 (kids)?”

When people ask how I’m doing and my response is that I am tired, they usually say something that has to do with the fact that we now have four kids. I mean, sure, four kids keeps a mom busy, but that is not the tired I am referring to. The tired I am referring to is an internal tired that is the result of a long two year process of living with a heart and attention divided, of many, many late nights of planning and paperwork, of traveling and living in a third-world country with four kids under 6 years old for two months (there are a lot of logistics stateside, familyside, and ugandaside to coordinate for that!). It is a tired that results from exposure to sadness, brokenness, and injustice on a level that I’ve yet to see and experience this close to home (and in my own home). It’s a tired from having to be ceaselessly vigilant and on top of every detail all the time. Finally, it’s a tired from bottling up the questions, thoughts, emotions and the processing of said journey (because who has time to deal with that messy stuff when there are so many imminent demands in front of you?). But that’s not what this post is about.

This post is about life with four, and I guess, for me, life with four kids is easy and normal and totally doable- compared to what we have been through in the last few months (I’ll call that, “life with 4, plus”). This day-to-day reality where we have to (*get to) navigate temper tantrums, hungry mouths, laundry, play dates, homework, baths, etc (x4), feels restful. It’s restful because we are all here under one roof and we get to focus on just living and being a family. And that, is fun! We sleep well, laugh a lot, and have already figured out how to sneak in some fun adventures (again, it’s all about the perspective… after “adventuring” around Uganda with the four kids, pretty much anything we could scheme up here feels easy). We have also figured out how to get everyone out of the house on time in the morning (a victory to celebrate for sure)! Macy and Owen continue to be fantastic big sister and brother and there is peace in our home. At some hours of the day it’s a loud, chaotic peace, but it’s peace nonetheless and I am thankful for it.

(And if I take a long time to call or text you back, I hope you’ll forgive me, ha. I didn’t say I have an abundance of time of my hands, I just said I’m having fun!)